


The Visitors

by Puppyinabox, Pups_Side_Box (Puppyinabox)



Category: Beetlejuice - All Media Types
Genre: Barbara is a bad bitch you cant kill her, Body Horror, Haunted House, Hurt/Comfort, Intersex Character, Major character death - Freeform, Multi, Trans Masculine Character, Upperstories' reverse au, beetlebabes dont interact, demon! maitlands, human! beetlejuice, reverse au, time for mikey to project, trans!Beetlejuice
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-17
Updated: 2020-01-03
Packaged: 2021-02-07 22:31:07
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 9,802
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21465592
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Puppyinabox/pseuds/Puppyinabox, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Puppyinabox/pseuds/Pups_Side_Box
Summary: cred to https://upperstories.tumblr.com/ for the AU idea!(title comes from an ABBA song)Lawrence Shogoth happens upon the case of a small haunted house in the equally small town of Woodtick, Connecticut while looking around a message board about hauntings.  looking for money and a change in scenery he packs his things and heads north to the town from New York City, leaving his family behind.  Lawrence does not believe in ghosts, or demons, or any kind of supernatural beings for that matter (except for distant aliens because come on, we can't be alone in this vast universe) and so he believes he is alone in the house.he is not alone.
Relationships: Beetlejuice/Adam Maitland, Beetlejuice/Adam Maitland/Barbara Maitland, Beetlejuice/Barbara Maitland
Comments: 62
Kudos: 169





	1. Chapter 1

Maybe a change of scenery was what he needed. Woodtick Connecticut was a two-hour drive from New York, and BJ had to admit he couldn’t drive very well but something pulled him towards the case of the haunted house in Connecticut. People had reported strangers in the windows of the small country home, strangers that the people in the equally small town didn’t know, although they knew almost all of their fellow residents on a personal level. The strangers would pass the windows, look out the windows, and open and close the blinds but never answered the door. 

In fact, nearly all commotion that was once happening inside stopped at once when someone tried to knock on the door. But they did receive mail and send mail for that matter. They paid their bills on time and had all their affairs in order it would seem, though no one came in or out of that house. Someone in the town had posted to a paranormal message board about the home but the post had gotten little to no traffic, so Lawrence saw that as a ripe opportunity to step in as “the number one exorcist in manhattan” (according to the reviews of his friends) the latter part in smaller print on his business cards.   
He intended to make a quick buck or two and leave. Lawrence didn’t see this as scamming because these people genuinely believed they were haunted and genuinely believed the ghosts were gone after he “helped.” He fed into their delusion but simultaneously freed them from it.   
Or at least that's what he told himself and his uncle Charles.

“Can I come?” Lydia asked when Lawrence told her about the new case,

“Lyds I-” Lawrence sighed, “Lydia it’s so far away, and your dad would worry.”

“But-”

“Ask Charles.”

“He’ll say no!” Lydia stomped, “I’m your business partner, you can’t keep me out of a haunting.”

“Don’t care, he’s in charge of you, I don't have that responsibility,” BJ said as he zipped his suitcase closed.

Lydia marched out of the room, fire in her step. She was a smart kid, book smart and she could handle herself too. But she was still a child and Lawrence didn’t want the possibility of his cousin getting hurt so far from home.

“I'm gonna miss you.”

“You’re just jealous,” BJ teased,

“Maybe a little. Still. Don't get eaten by ghosts or whatever, I need you for subway fare.”

“Can’t uncle chuck pay your subway fare?”

“He doesn’t like me taking the subway.”

“Now that’s not what I said!” Charles interrupted, “I said I didn’t want you riding alone.”

“Charles, you should support public transportation.” Deliah chimed in, “the rhythm of the train is better for the soul, according to my guru Otho.”

“Ok that’s a little dumb but still,” Lydia said,

“Don’t be rude.” BJ said, “ok but seriously. Stay out of trouble, Lydia.”

“Only if you promise to do the same!”

The house was lofty and quaint. As Lawrence stepped up the front step the white painted wood creaked. He winced and knocked, as he expected no one answered. The original poster on the message board had said the door might be unlocked. Lawrence had decided he would stay in the house, as he didn’t really believe anything was in there besides maybe some squatters and had brought an air mattress among other things. He tried the door and it creaked open.

“Hello?” he called into the silent house.   
No response came to him so he stepped in further. He tried one of the light switches and to his surprise, it worked. The house was completely functional, it had running water and electricity. It didn’t have a heating system, but there was a big fireplace in the sitting room, which he set up his hair mattress near. The house was lightly furnished, the bare minimum is a wooden table with two chairs in the dining room, a worn yellow sofa with blue flowers embroidered into the upholstery, and a small empty bookshelf on against the wall in the sitting room. The bathroom had a simple grey curtain on the shower and an odd little soap holder that looked like a clamshell.

He took photographs of many places in the house, knowing Lydia would want to see them and develop some of the photographs in the black room she’d set up. Deliah had wanted to help her with that, and Lydia begrudgingly agreed. As it turned out Deliah knew quite a few things about vintage photography, and that was a way they found a common ground for conversation. BJ was glad they’d gotten along better with that.

Lawrence, tired from the journey, pumped the air into his air mattress and set up his sleeping area. He thought about starting a fire in the fireplace but decided he didn’t know enough about that for that to be safe. Instead, he used all the blankets he’d packed, unzipped his sleeping bag, and added one of his coats for good measure. 

When he went to change into his sleep clothes he felt an eerie feeling as if someone was watching him. It made him instinctively curl in on himself, an old habit of slouching to hide his chest. He sighed and rolled his shoulders, he was just nervous about being somewhere new.   
Or at least that's what he told himself.  
He shivered, his scars felt cold like someone had traced them with an ice cube. He quickly pulled on a shirt and sweatshirt and got under his covers. The many blankets served as a calming weight over him. He loved these sleeping conditions, a cold room with many warm blankets.

In the middle of the night, a sound woke him from his sleep. He sat up and glanced into the kitchen. It seemed that the chairs had moved as if they were now facing him. He thought he heard a voice say something, but he realized it was probably just the wind. He laughed softly to himself and laid back down, choosing to ignore and forget what he had seen. It was likely just his imagination anyways,  
Or at least that’s what he told himself.


	2. Chapter 2

The Maitlands sat at their kitchen table, watching the newcomer sleep. Barbara’s hands neatly folded in her lap, Adam’s sitting on the kitchen table with his fingers laced together.

“It would seem,” Barabara started, “that we have a visitor.”

“Homeless?” Adam asked,

“Maybe. I’m not sure, maybe recently his stuff doesn’t look too worn.”

“We’ve never had a visitor.” Adam stated, “what do we do?”

“I'm not sure about that either.” Barbara hummed, “do you want to reveal ourselves? I’m thinking about it, but only if you want to as well.”

“Ask me after a day of watching?”

“Of course dear.” Barbara smiled and took his hand, “do you want to keep watching like this or take a break to watch the sun-rise?”

“The sunrise would be lovely.” Adam stood and they rose through the ceiling to sit on the roof.

As the sun rose over the horizon of the quiet little town of Woodtick the two demons known as Adam and Barbara, names taken on for the simplicity of human language, leaned on each other and enjoyed the warmth of the sun. The first time they had seen the sun had been quite the moment. They emerged from the Netherworld from a thinner part of the veil between realities that rested in a wooden covered bridge in the town. When they left the cover of the bridge the mid-day sun shone on their skin and horns and hair and they felt something that, although they’d never gone tops-side before, felt like returning to an old home. A home that had been dearly missed, the sun was an old friend who’s embrace seemed to quell any worries they had.

Adam had been the first to notice the way Barbara’s horns caught the light of the sun. he marveled at the iridescent shine about them. He commented and Barbara noticed it in his horns too, they shined with many vibrant colors, pink and blue and green and yellow. The pink and blue melded into a gentle violet in the rising sun. Adam reached and tucked a strand of hair out of Barbara’s face, she looked at him and smiled. The quiet intimacy they shared warmed them more than the sunlight could, their kiss as gentle as the sun’s rays themselves.

The next morning Lawrence woke up and stretched his arms. The chairs were back in their usual places, neatly pushed under the table, He hummed to himself as he brushed his teeth then got dressed to go into town to meet his client for coffee, trying his best to be presentable.

“You’ve visited the house?” the client asked, 

“Yeah. there was an odd feeling in the house, there must be something there.” BJ blew on his coffee to cool it, “So far it doesn’t seem malevolent though.”

“Very nice.” the client said, “say, you’re shorter than I’d expected.”

Lawrence frowned, “all the men in my family are pretty short,” he lied, He drank the rest of his coffee and cleared his throat,

“Well, I suppose you’ll want the money upfront?” she asked,

“Uh- yeah, I mean if that works for you,” he answered,

“And the check goes out to Lawrence…”

“Shoggoth,” he said after a moment of thought. He still wondered why he kept his mother’s last name even after Emily had helped him legally change it when he turned eighteen. Maybe it just didn’t feel like his place to take her name, even though she was always more of a mother to him than Juno.   
Juno who yelled at him, Juno who called him names, Juno who said the reason she drank so much was because she was disgusted by how he was born, disgusted by her child born in “the-in-between”, disgusted by his interests and personality and style and by who he loved, Juno who locked him in a closet when he cut his own hair short.

“Rather on the nose for an Exorcist!” she giggled, the name on her checks said ‘Veronica Murray’. Veronica tore off a check and handed it to Lawrence, “is this… well does that cover things?”

Lawrence, snapped out of his thoughts, looked over the check and nodded, it was a bit more than he’d expected but he wasn’t about to comment on that, “yeah, looks good. Should have everything normal in no time.” he smiled and pocketed the check. They sat there for a moment, in silence until veronica spoke up,

“So, where does an Exorcist go to college to be one?”

“Oh, well uh- I actually graduated from Julliard.”

“Wow! Did showbiz bore you? Why the change in tune?”

“Debt, you know? And the supernatural has always fascinated me.” Lawrence laughed and checked the time on his phone, “well I should be going right about now,” a lie, “I'll give you updates via email?”

“Or we can meet up again.” Veronica smiled, “you have my number and address. On the check.”

Oh.

“Oh, well, um,” Lawrence laughed shakily, “yeah, uh… I’ll- I’ll think about it.” He didn’t want to say no because he didn’t want to be rude and if he was being honest with himself he really would have taken up her offer had circumstances been different. But he was so far from home, and he didn’t know how people in Connecticut felt about certain things.  
He didn’t want to let her down, and he was also afraid.

“Ok,” she said, 

“Right. Have a good one.” and Lawrence speed-walked out of the coffee shop to his car and drove off. He felt bad for acting the way he did, but veronica seemed like a nice girl and she was pretty so even if she felt bad about Lawrence denying her she could probably find someone better, small town or not.

When he got to the house he decided to shower and then maybe call Lydia to tell her about the house. As he got undressed he felt that same feeling of being watched again. He wrapped his arms tightly around himself and got in the shower. The water started icy cold and didn’t heat up until a minute or two, but after that, it became instantly too hot. BJ groaned and kept adjusting the knob. The old pipes in the house whined and rattled as water flowed through them. Eventually, Lawrence got tired of dealing with the shower knob and quickly got dressed.

“He’s an odd one,” Barbara commented to Adam. 

Adam nodded, “certainly… unique.”

“Intriguing?”

“Very much.” Adam trailed off, “He seems so… warm.”

“And bright.”

“Electrifying?”

“To some extent. There’s a sadness about him too though.” Barbara sat on the edge of the sink with her chin in her hands,

“How do you mean?”

“There’s just so much quiet pain in his eyes, he’s lonely.”

“We’re lonely.” Adam stated bluntly, “lonely together but…”

“I do share a sense of longing.”

“Shall we?”

“Only if you’re ready.”

“I think I am. Tonight.” Adam said, fiddling with the tools on his belt, “but, could you… introduce yourself first? You’ve always been the bolder of us.”

“Of course, darling.” Barbara got up and kissed Adam’s temple, “shall we watch the birds?”

“I’d love to.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> im projecting SO MUCH onto every character in this thing.  
also veronica might be important later i havent decided yet. ;)


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> tw for Juno being VERY MEAN(she says some upsetting stuff to emily over the phone about Lawrence)

“Hey nerd” Lawrence smiled when Lydia answered the facetime call, 

“Sup, loser” she answered with a smile, “show me around the house.”

“Sure thing, here’s where I cry.” he pointed the camera at his bed set up, Lydia laughed. “When I'm done with tissues I throw them in the fire. On to the kitchen, table for two even though I’m alone, no silverware or plates, we eat with our hands like adults.”

“You don’t get the true flavor with forks” Lydia joked,

“Exactly. Wanna see the five empty bedrooms that scare me too much to sleep in?”

“I’m alright. Find any ghosts yet?”

“Not yet. The vibes here are disgusting though. Seriously this place is creepy. Feels like the walls have eyes.”

“Maybe they do, your eyes just aren’t open enough.”

“Cool that was terrifying and cryptic!”

“But I may be right. Remember Coraline?”

“Yeah, that was your favorite movie as a kid, it always creeped me out.”

“Yeah, well remember the seeing eye stone? Maybe you need one of those?”

“Maybe, I’ll have to figure out how to make one.” Lawrence sat on the couch which disturbed what felt like decades of dust into the air. He coughed,

“I could have lent you mine. Or you could have brought me.” Lydia frowned,

“Lydia. I’m already out here, sorry.”

“I know, just Delia kept talking about how you should have brought some of her crystals with you for protection.”

Lawrence smiled, “don’t bully her, it’s ‘cause she cares.”

“Yeah. when do you think you’ll be back?”

“I’m not sure. Probably soon though.”

“Alright, stay safe in the middle of nowhere.”

“Don’t get mugged!” Lawrence hung up while they were both laughing. He thought over what she said about seeing stones but ultimately decided he’d just wait around. He looked around the kitchen and noticed all the dust and frowned. First, he dusted off the old gas stove and checked if it still worked, oddly enough it did, then checked the refrigerator. Not only was it empty but completely spotless, as if someone had neurotically scrubbed it down before selling the house. The cupboards were empty save for a few boxes of matches and candles. After being dusted and cleaned the kitchen started to look alive, almost like a picture in a magazine from the 50s advertising some new kitchen appliances. 

He was glad he brought a small saucepan with him and some boxed mac and cheese. Lawrence made himself dinner and stood leaning his back and hip against the counter as he ate. While the house didn’t feel like a home it certainly was starting to feel more welcoming. More open. Maybe it was because he had dusted off the curtains on the kitchen windows and opened them, letting the sunlight flow in. the golden hour cast gentle shadows into the corners and doorways of the house, as if there was a small family gathering of shadow people milling about. 

It reminded him of Christmases with the Deetzs as a child. Listening to Aunt Emily talk about her work or the gentle Christmas carols playing from a radio on the mantle above the fire. Before he managed to make enough working odd jobs over the summer as a teenager to move in with his aunt and uncle BJ always looked forward to the warmth of their home. Just like the fireplace warmed the old Manhattan brownstone while the cold December wind whipped outside, Emily served as a warm safe-haven in his childhood.

It was Emily who gave him his first bike. It was green and had a bell and wheel add-ons for tricks like wheelies or jumps. She also gave him a matching green helmet. He was so happy taking it home until Juno got mad. She sold the bike and helmet by January and one night Lawrence overheard Juno on the phone

“Em stop humoring her. She’s confused and you’re only confusing her mor- listen here Emily I don't need advice from you! You don’t even have a child, and no, the ghosts of miscarriages don’t count! Keep your bitter paws off my daughter.”

Lawrence had heard crying on the other end before she hung up. The time Emily saw him she held him tightly, and he wondered if she was going to cry again. If she was going to cry he wanted to be strong and there for her, but he ended up being the one to cry, and she held him through it.

She protected him. Made him feel safe and happy. She didn’t care who or what he was, she just cared if he was happy or not. Unconditionally. Now that Emily was gone Lawrence tried his hardest to give Lydia what she would have if she were still around. He just wanted her to be safe and happy, without anything similar to his experience with Juno in the background. She already lost her mom, she shouldn’t have to deal with the feeling of never really having one.

While BJ worked on the dishes he heard the sound of a door opening and closing behind him. He held his breath. No sound followed it. He turned off the water and dried his hands, slowly grabbing the handle of the saucepan. Once he had a sure enough grip he whipped around and held it in front of himself. There was no one behind him. Slowly he stepped across the tile kitchen floor, rolling through his feet to keep his footfalls as quiet as possible. Toe ball heel, toe ball heel, toe ball

A woman stood in the living room, one hand rested on the back of the couch. She wore a knee-length pleated dress with a Jewel neckline and emerald green and white pin-dot pattern. Her wavy hair was pinned neatly into a faux bob and she wore a headband with the same pattern as her dress. Her eyes were sunken in and looked slightly bruised around the sockets.

“Wh- uh… hello?”

She smiled, “hello.” she stepped forward and held her hand out to shake, “my name is Barbara Maitland, may I have yours?”

Lawrence thought over her wording, remembering something Lydia mentioned about spirits taking your name and having control over you, “people call me Beetlejuice.” he carefully said his old band nickname, shaking her hand. Her fingers were inexplicably cold, “do you… live here?”

“Live would be a strong word.” she chuckled, “But i see you’ve made quite a home for yourself here.”

Lawrence squeezed the handle of the saucepan, “I- I’m sorry?”

“Oh it’s fine! We haven’t had a visitor in… well ever” she smiled brightly, her hands clasped to her chest, “it’s a pleasure to meet you Beetlejuice.”

He looked around, “we?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> refs for barbara's hair and dress:  
hair: https://i.pinimg.com/originals/bb/5a/f1/bb5af1aebfc58dd6962d5d29a55cb624.jpg   
dress: (darker and white white pin-dots instead of black) https://static.topvintage.net/shop-product/130638-Tatyana-Mint-Green-Polkadot-Swing-Dress-102-49-25399-20180308-1-full.jpg


	4. Chapter 4

“Yes, Adam and I. give him a moment, he’s a bit shy.” Barbara looked off into one of the halls that lead to a bedroom, “Adam?”

A man, a few inches taller than Barbara, stepped out from the hall with his hands in his pockets. He wore a green, white, and blue flannel shirt with khaki pants and a work belt with what looked woodworking tools. His eyes were similarly sunken in and looked more bruised around where the rims of his glasses could have collided with his face. The lense over his right eye was cracked and the rims on that side seemed bent out of shape.

“Hello,” he said with a smile. Lawrence gave a small wave and a tight smile,

“So you’re not mad I’m here?”

“On the contrary.” Barbara took a step forward, Lawrence took one back, “you’re very welcome to stay, we just thought it was rude of us not to introduce ourselves until now.”

Adam nodded, “stay as long as you like.”

“Ok… cool.” BJ set down the saucepan on the sofa end table and put his hands in his jean pockets, “how long have you two been here?”

“Oh a few months,” Barbara looked to Adam, 

“yes about one hundred and fifteen months,” Adam replied, tapping his foot as he spoke.

“That's a little under ten years.” 

“Oh is it? Gosh, I must have lost track.” Adam said, rubbing the back of his neck.

“So did you guys like.. Die here? Is there hazardous stuff I should be worried about?”

“Oh no, we didn’t die,” Barbara said with a smile.

“What?”

“We’ve just been like this for eternity,” she answered. BJ took another step back, slowly he noticed things. The odd shimmer in their eyes and the way their hair reflected the light, how had he not noticed horns curled around Barbara’s temples? They must have blended in with the curls pinned in her hair, his mind must have simply glossed over them. He noticed Adam’s horns just peeking past his hair, small like a young goat’s horns. His hair looked like it was once neatly kept but now fell in a bit of disarray.

“Demons…” Lawrence said softly, more to himself than them.

“That’s correct.” Barbara cheered.

Lawrence looked between the two of them and felt his chest tighten. This was real. This was actually happening. This wasn’t a con anymore, there were actual demons in this house. Sure they looked like a family in some anti-communist 50s propaganda poster but everything else, their hair their eyes. The way they just appeared out of nowhere? The simplest conclusion is generally true which would mean that Lawrence was very suddenly in way over his head. He quickly went to rummage through his bag and pulled out a bible he brought for purely performative reasons, in case a client wanted to watch an exorcism, a con man is always prepared, and held it to his chest. He felt his breathing quicken,

“Wh-why are you here? Why are you talking to me?”

Barbara’s smile fell and her face melted from one of welcoming warmth to confusion, “well do we need a reason?”

“Generally most people do, yeah”

“Well, it all started when we got… excommunicated if you will.” Adam said, taking a seat on the couch, “apparently ‘killing them with kindness’ wasn’t an option.”

“We’ve been together since the birth of human sin and never really seen the appeal in evil, sure trickery is nice and fun but evil?”

“Absolutely not,” they said together

“We were forced out because we hadn’t met any proper quotas, but we were glad we got sent out together. We’ve been here ever since.” Adam held Barbara’s hand over the arm of the couch.

Lawrence eyed them cautiously, “still… why not just kick me out? Scare me? No jerky ghost crawl out of the fireplace or walls dripping blood?”

Adam hesitated and made a face, barbara smiled,

“Well, you just seemed too nice to kick out. You didn’t really mess up any of our things, goodness you even cleaned!”

“Uh, you’re welcome?” Lawrence relaxed, “but, wait. Do you know why I’m here?”

“Humans are still curious, right?” Adam asked,

“Yeah, some more than others but I mean I like to think I'm pretty curious.”

“That’s why you’re here, isn’t it?” Barbara asked, her head tilted,

“Oh! Yeah, yeah I used to see this place all the time before and always wondered about it…”

“Of course.” Adam smiled, his smiles seemed rare, generally he stared blankly off into the horizon. His smile charmed and may have reminded him of a few guys from high school and college, before things got complicated, of course, that is.

“We’ve been seeing you too, watching.” Barbara chirped as if that were a normal thing to say,

Lawrence flinched and held his bible tighter, “you what?”

“Barbara,” Adam said, “maybe we should slow down? I think we’re scaring him.”

“Oh, are we? Goodness, I'm sorry.” 

Lawrence nodded and said “yeah um… I can leave maybe? If you want? I mean this place is really nice and-”

“Stay, stay! It’s alright, we’ll give you space.” they both said quickly

“Ok, cool…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry about the wait, i had a production and then some NASTY writers block


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> tw for the H slur and also just generally bad vibes

“Ok, cool…”

Lawrence relaxed and put the bible down. “I’m just gonna, um, go to brush my teeth and then sleep.”

They were still staring at him, “alright” barbara said. There was a beat where they all sort of stared at each other until Lawrence said,

“Right, yeah, ok.”

The two followed him to the bathroom and he only noticed them when he turned around after brushing his teeth, they cast no reflections. He jumped and Adam smiled in a way he thought was an attempt to be apologetic. Lawrence picked up his sweatpants and sleep shirt from the haphazard pile he left them in that morning and carried them to the bathroom, shutting the door between them this time when he went in to change.

Once he was clothed again he looked at himself in the mirror, messing with his hair. He sighed and opened the door, they weren't waiting for him outside like he’d expected, which relieved him a little. He got into his sleeping bag under his covers, still tense.  
Barbara brought him a pillow, nudging him awake,

"Hello, I thought you'd like this." She said softly, her voice like honey, "we don't really need it."

"Oh- thanks." BJ smiled and took the pillow. She walked, or rather floated, away and left him to sleep without incident.

The next morning Lawrence woke to a call from Veronica. He looked around and couldn’t seem to find either of the Maitlands so he answered,

“Hello?”

“Hello there Lawrence.” 

“Hey, did you need something?”

“Not really. I just wanted an update on the investigation.”

“Oh, right yeah. I’ve got some stuff in the works, checks and traps and whatnot, really complicated stuff! Hard to explain.”

“That’s alright, you don't have to. Want to get brunch today?”

“Oh um- sure” and the room felt cold, “I’m probably free at around eleven?”

“Perfect, same shop as last time!”

“Ok!” BJ started getting ready for the day. He started brewing a pot of water for instant coffee, missing his coffee maker back at home. He leaned and sipped his coffee, wondering about the sudden cold feeling in the entire house. 

“Hey, Lawrence!” Veronica smiled when she saw him. Lawrence felt an odd pinch in his chest, he simplified it to probably just be nerves. He didn’t really know if this was a date or just business.

“Hi,” he said, taking a seat at the table in the dinner. He noticed just how much taller than him she was. She was the average height for a woman, not some towering amazon. But then again everyone towered over Lawrence considering he came in at a whopping five foot two inches. 

“You look nice,” she said, stirring her coffee.

“Thanks, so do you.” her lipstick was red, so were her nails. A deep, blood red. Her eyes were a startling blue, framed in dark eyeshadow. She crawled her nails up his arm, scraping along through his arm hair. He tensed,

“Uh- what’re you-”

“I think it goes without saying…” she dragged her index nail back down his arm, he shivered, “that I intend for this to be more than just business.”

“You… you do?”

She nodded,

“What do you want it to be?”

“I think you know.”

He did, and it worried him. He wasn’t opposed to any kind of relationship with her, but he was scared of how she’d react to him.

“Well, then I uh- I need to tell you something.” BJ picked at his fingernails,

“Go ahead,” she said, head tilted ever so slightly,

“I- um.”

“Oh my gosh you’re gay.” she said quickly, “I’m sorry i-”

“No, no I’m not… I'm not gay. I’m intersex.”

“You’re what?”

“Intersex”

“What does that mean?”

Lawrence sighed, curling in on himself, “there are more… disrespectful terms, you might know.”

“Such as?”

“Hermaphrodite,” he muttered.

“Oh. so… so intersex is the proper term then?”

He nodded, keeping his eyes on the tablecloth.

“Alright… I couldn’t- I couldn’t tell.”

“Well yeah, most people don’t-”

“Did your parents like… decide to make you one way or the other?”

‘My- my mom wanted a daughter but,” Lawrence adjusted himself, “she never really… went forward with anything, though I’d grow out of it or something like I’d develope the way she wanted.”

“Did you?”

Lawrence looked up at her, she asked so many questions. All so intrusive. And yet he still answered. He would have kicked himself for it,

“Sort of… I mean I did physically I guess, except for in some places. I never- I never b-bled.”

“Oh, ok.” she tapped her fingers in time to a rhythm she had in her head, “alright.”

“Yeah…”

“So wait… do you have like- both? Or one more than the other…”

“I- I mean that’s a little… personal.”

“Oh, ok… I just thought… y’know.”

“Um- ok… I just- I’m gonna… go.”

“Yeah, that’s fair.”

“Right ok thanks bye.” Lawrence picked up his phone and left some money for the coffee he got and quickly got to his car and drove back to the house.

"God..." he muttered to himself in the car, his fingers tightly wound around the wheel, "I should've, I should've known. why did I even-"  
before Larence could keep on talking to himself his phone started to go off through the car's BlueTooth. It was Lydia, "hey?" he answered, "what's up?"

"Lawrence," well that can't be good,

"Lyds what's wrong?"

"Juno um... Juno had a heart attack. she's alive but- well nobody knows if she's gonna be ok for much longer."

"oh..."

"I'm sorry, I just... I thought you should know."

"yea- yeah.. um, thanks... do you- do you know if she's uh, conscious?"

"yeah."

"ok... thanks lydia."

"of course. are you ok?"

"I-... I'm ok." he lied through his teeth ass he pulled into the driveway and hung up.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> god there's so much fucking angst in this...  
anyways warning for juno(deadnaming and other forms of verbal abuse)

The house was cold when he came in and the maitlands were nowhere to be seen. BJ sighed and saw his breath.

“Hey um, guys?” he pulled his jacket closer around himself,

“Beetlejuice.” Barbara emerged from the floor,

“I’m- im gonna need to be away for a bit, my- my mom’s sick. I have to go see her.”

“You sound against that.”

Lawrence sighed, “I just- look just keep an eye on my things? I’m gonna be driving there and back and I'll probably only be gone for about two days.”

“Are you opposed to the drive or-” adam appeared beside barbara,

“I don’t want to talk about this, you guys just need to know that i'm gonna be leaving and i'll be back as soon as possible. I just need to pack some things. It’s a long drive to Albany.”

“We’d come with you if we could-”

“No, I need to be alone for this.” he started to pack a duffel bag with some snacks and an extra change of clothes. 

“We hope your mother gets better, beetlejuice.”

Lawrence shrugged on his bag, “yeah uh…” he coughed, “thanks”\

The drive was a numb slough. He passed through neighborhoods and towns, some still had their fourth of july decorations up, even though it was almost halloween. The highways and towns and neighborhoods all blurred together into a single grey streak through his window and windshield as he drove. The drive itself was not necessarily too stressful in the sense that other drivers can be. He parked in the hospital parking lot and signed in,

“I’m here to see Juno shoggoth… she’s- I'm her son.”

“Name?” asked the receptionist. Her red hair tied high up on her head and her bangs cut neatly,

“L-Lawrence.”

She typed something in her computer and peered up at him. Lawrence shifted back and forth on his feet, 

“Um-”

“I have a next of kin here listed as- oh, oh I see. Yes, um- she should be fine to see you.” She gestured with her pen to a door beside her, “she’s in the icu triage, room number three.”

Lawrence nodded.

The heart monitor attached to juno beeped quietly. Larence knocked on the doorframe,

“Hey mom.” he whispered. It was dark in the room, light only coming from the hall and the machinery in the room. Juno used the bed’s remote to sit herself up,

“Came crawling back to watch me die, huh?”

“Mom-” Lawrence sat beside her, “how do you feel?” she looked terrible. Her eyes were sunken in, her hands looked cold and numb from a lack of circulation, her teeth were stained from cigarette smoke. But none of that was new, she just suddenly also had a shadow of death around her.

Her fingers twitched, “they wont let me smoke,”

“Mom it’s a hospital… I got you something?”

“What?” she glared at Lawrence’s bag

“It’s um, it’s a mug, it has paint that changes color with heat, I thought you’d think it was um… interesting?” the mug changed from a painting of a field to van gogh's starry night depending on the temperature of its contents, or so the box had said.

“Why would I need a mug, Laurie? I’m gonna be dead.”

“Y-you’re not dead yet mom.” Lawrence winced, so this was how it was gonna go, huh?

“You’re an idiot. You always have been-”

“Mom-”

“No. you’re wrong, and broken, and bad. You were born a thing, not my child. But I tried, damn did I try. I tried to make you better, make you someone. I made you into my daughter. Like making a gold ring I beat you into shape, but it didn’t hold. You’ll always be broken, Lauren. You’ll never be loved, you’ll never be- be what? What do you want to be? My son? You’re a joke.”

“Mom-” Lawrence forced down a sob, he refused to give her the satisfaction of a single tear. He was here to try to get a message across before she died, to try to fix things or at least get an ounce of respect. Apparently that wasn’t going to happen.

“Why are you even here?”

“I- I wanted to check on you. I was scared.”

“Your mother is already dead, You never loved me-”

“Mom I’m trying!” lawrence stood up, “it’s not my fault, none of this is my fault! I didn’t want any of this-”

“Then why didn’t you die with emily?” Juno’s voice cut through him. He felt cold,

“Mom-”

“I’m not-”

“Goodbye mom. I- I wanted to love you.” Lawrence left the mug on the bedside table and stepped back into the brightly lit hallway. 

He hated hospitals, they reminded him of the last few months he had with Emily. She’d just gotten so sick, she had to be in the hospital constantly. Lydia said Hospitals made her think of death, and he could understand why. He used to associate them with birth. Stepping out of Juno’s room he came to the conclusion that either could be a tragedy or a blessing, given the proper circumstances.

“Are you ok?” asked the receptionist when he stepped back into the waiting room,

“Yeah just- family stuff, y’know?” Lawrence adjusted the strap of his bag on his shoulder. Everything felt heavier. His bag, the air around him, even his clothes and shoes. Like he couldn’t breathe.

“Family is what you make it, my friend. Love is stronger than blood.”

“Oh, yeah, thanks.” he smiled and walked out, “that's not weird or creepy at all…” he muttered as he walked to his car.   
It was late, far too late to drive. And really, he had no intention of doing much of anything after that delightful conversation. He drove to a shady run down motel and ordered a room for the night. The room looked worse for wear. The bed had new sheets but you could tell the mattress underneath was tattered and worn. 

“Slept on worse.” he reminded himself as he collapsed onto the bed. The springs inside it groaned and screamed under the shift in weight.

BJ had a hard time falling asleep. The walls were thin and even on a tuesday night other people could be heard in the next room over. He thought about banging a fist on the wall to remind them he was there, or to just get out some pent up emotions. But he just decided to just try to sleep through it. He lay awake, picking at his nails and tugging at his own hair, until about midnight when he finally passed out.

Lawrence didn’t wake up again until the late morning the next day. He took a quick shower, glad the mirror in the bathroom was too broken to be of any threat, and drove back to the house.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i based juno's monologue a bit on a scene in bojack horseman, a show that upsets me deeply but also has some good lines.  
also juno is now dead. but don't worry :)


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, Boxing Day update!  
Juno’s dead.

There was another car parked in the driveway when he got back to the house, a blue Prius. The back had bumper stickers for different shops and one of those coexist stickers. He parked and walked to the doorstep. Just when h reached for the doorknob Veronica opened the door and walked straight into him,

“Woah- oh hey,” she smiled,

“Veronica? What- what’re you doing in the house?”

“Oh, I got curious… y’know. I didn’t see your car when I drove by so…”

“Yeah uh, I had to… had to say some goodbyes.”

“To who?”

“Um- nobody, just-“

“Have you been crying? You can talk to me.” She sat on the doorstep and patted the spot next to her. Lawrence sighed, she was all he had at the moment he supposed, except for that weird couple of demons in the house, but he was still unsure about them.

“My mom, she had a heart attack. Shoulda seen it coming though, with all the drinking and smoking… I just thought I should see her before she got worse, y’know?”

“Yeah… was she mad at you?”

Lawrence scoffed, “big time, she hates my guts. What y’know… whatever.”

“Well it’s good you tried to make things right with her.”

“Yeah uh- yeah sure.” He didn’t like how she made it sound like he did something wrong that needed ‘righting’.

“Is she dead?”

“I- I think so. I don’t know how to explain it but I felt something… they’re probably gonna figure out how to call me at the hospital soon. Wrong name in the books.”

Veronica nodded. A cold wind blew her hair in her face and she shivered, “well I should be going.”

“Right, yeah, ok. Um- drive safe or something.”

She smiled and got in her car.

“Guys” Lawrence called into the seemingly empty house, he looked around and made sure Veronica hadn’t messed with or taken any of his things,

“Beetle juice? Is that you?” Adam’s voice came from seemingly nowhere,

“Yeah, where are you guys?”

Adam descended from the ceiling and Barbara stepped out of the kitchen,

“Who was she?” Barbara asked, her voice seemed tense,

“Oh um- she’s…” BJ searched for something, “she’s a client.”

“For what?” Adam asked, he just seemed sad, 

“I uh-“ that made him sound like a prostitute, shit, “I do odd jobs, house repair or cleaning… stuff like that.”

“Oh, ok.” Barbara seemed to be a little more calm, “are you ok?”

Lawrence picked at his nails, “yeah, yeah I’m fine.”

“Ok.”

“Just tired, need maybe some alone time.” 

“Alright. We’ll leave you be then.” She nodded to Adam and the two of them floated up through the ceiling and into the attic.

“I don’t trust her.”

“Veronica?”

“Yes.”

Adam hummed, “nor do I, but… if she makes beetlejuice happy we should let it be.”

“She was up to something.” Barbara paced around the attic, “you saw, she had that notebook. We need to protect our home. We need to protect Beetlejuice!”

“We can’t really do anything in the material world except move small items, barbara…”

“That’s true. Unless…”

“Unless?”

“Unless Beetlejuice summons us.”

“B-Barbara, that’s- are you sure?”

“Why not? I’m sure he’d be willing!”

“But it’s a rather big commitment.”

“Do you want him?”

“I- woah!” Adam blushed, “barb,”

“Love, be honest with me.”

“Well I do, I want you also.”

“I feel the same way. He can bring us into his world, and we can protect him.”

“We don’t even know if she’s a threat, Barbara.”

Barbara sat on an old worn down couch in the attic, “She was looking for us. She… Adam I know you can’t sense the same things as me but I can feel it. She had so many protective seals, residual hexes, Adam she’s an exorcist, or at least she’s trying to be.”

“She- she is?”

Adam thought about what she’d been like in the house. Muttering things, writing in her odd little notebook. The way she looked through Beetlejuice’s things. Barbara’s hands had tensed when she took a long time examining his clothes. Adam had felt equally jealous. He also felt violated. She’d come into their home, a stranger. Beetlejuice had been different, he had no malicious intent to be found, she was different. 

“She… is rather unsettling. Unnerving.”

“Yes. We’re not safe. And for all we know neither is Beetlejuice, not if he gets in her way.” She cupped adam’s face in her hands, “I can’t- I can't risk losing you again, my love.”

He held her hand, “I- I know. I trust you, whatever we need to do. We’ll protect our home.”

“Hey Lydia.” Lawrence said into the phone,

“Did they hospital call you?”

“Yeah, a few minutes ago. I-“

“You were there for me when my mom died. I wanna help you.”

“Lyds you- you know this is different.”

“Still. Are you ok?”

“I don’t know. It’s weird. I think I should feel great but I feel like trash. I miss her, or- I mean… I feel bad. I’m sad. I wanted her to say sorry, to finally be kind. To say ‘we’ll gosh Lawrence I was wrong all along, I love you and am proud of you as my son.’ It was stupid.”

“That’s not stupid, man. She’s your mom.”

“She used to get mad when I wanted to spend more time at your mom’s place. She even used to use affection as like I dunno a reward for not being there. It was weird.”

“That’s messed up man.”

“Yeah… I guess I feel worse about not feeling bad enough? Like I should be more upset but I’m just… nothing.”

“I mean I think that’s fair, you don’t have to mourn someone who hated you.” Lydia said, “don’t beat yourself up.”

“Yeah. How are you holding up?”

“I’m ok. Dad is talking with family about her funeral.”

“I- I might not come.”

“That’s ok.”

“Thanks lyds.”

“Anytime beetlejuice.”

BJ laughed, “the old band name?”

“Hey, it’s a good one!”

“Yeah. Yeah it is.”

“You stay safe man.”

“You too kid.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Things aren’t always what they seem, and the same goes with people ;)  
Anyways the holiday’s been great! I got a very nice pendant from my girlfriend, I bought her chocolates. She seemed to like them :)
> 
> Hope y’all like this!


	8. Chapter 8

Something was in that house. And Lawrence wasn’t doing anything about it. What a shame. Veronica twiddled the hair she’d found in his sleeping bag between her fingers and thought, voodoo was rather out of her depth. She knew he’d lied, but she was past that, she could very well handle this haunting herself.

“Lawrence, Lawrence, Lawrence… in too deep now, aren’t you?” She hummed to herself, “shouldn’t have lied…”. She put the hair in a ring box and put the ring box in one of her dresser drawers,

“An incubus and a salphani… simple enough to get rid of.” Veronica flipped through the pages of an old book, a book originally meant to expel forces of evil, of lust and wrath. The irony did not seem to faze her, if she was aware of it at all.

“Beetlejuice,” barbara stood in the kitchen,

“Yeah?” 

“This… Veronica, do you love her?”

“I- I don’t. She makes me uncomfortable. And to be honest I’m a bit scared of her.”

“I am too. Look, I can protect this home from her. She will not go through your things or make you uncomfortable again, but I need help.”

“Um, ok?” Lawrence hesitated, as nice as she seemed this still was a deal with a demon,

“I need you to summon Adam and I. We cant do much in the physical realm unless we’re summoned.”

“I mean, I think I can handle her… she… she just flirts weird.”

Barbara frowned, “it’s up to you, simply know that summoning me and Adam would mean protection. If you need it, take it.”

“Oh, y-yeah. Sure.. thanks.”

Her eyes were soft, and gentle. But somewhere under that gentleness burned a fire, Lawrence could tell, 

“Say, what kind of demons are you two?”

“What do you mean by that? Anyone is capable of kindness.”

“No i mean, like… like actually? Kindness aside.”

“Oh, well Adam is an incubus, and I am a salphani.”

“Cool um, what’s a salphani?”

“A demon of wrath and chaos.” She answered with an eerie smile.

“Huh yeah um! Ok!” 

“We’re meant to pose as certain people and trick others into thinking they’re angry with them, and cause them to fight.” Barbara gave a small twirl and her hair color changed, the style became a short bob and her clothes became armor, “I am ashamed to say it but one of my assignments was an attempt to get Joan of arc killed by her own military comrades… i refused… sad to say she was still killed. A shame.”  
Barabara transformed back and sighed,  
“We’re beings of rage, but I don’t like that, I hate being that. I just want to be kind, loving. I met Adam on an assignment in Egypt, something to do with all that drama around Cleo and her boys… he was nervous, such a soft man. So good.”

“He’s an incubus?” Lawrence hummed, “he’s pretty shy,”

“Yes, we both so hated our work. We made a vow to protect each other and stay together. Whatever we did we did together, as long as we both agreed.”

“Sounds like marriage.”

“We did find that to be such a novel human concept.” Barbara tucked a bit of BJ’s hair behind his ear, “humans… humans are such a novel concept.”

“Th-thanks. Um, is this...”

“Am I- am I overstepping?” Barbara took her hand back, 

“I just- i mean you and Adam-“

“He feels the same.”

“Oh, n-neat.”

“Do you?”

“Do I what?”

“Do you feel the same?” Barbara smiled,

“I- I mean I just met you two…. I am interested.”

“I’m glad you’re interested-“ Barbara was cut off by the sound of a car pulling into the driveway loudly and Adam rushing into the room,

“Something’s wrong.” He said, in a hushed tone,

“What?” Lawrence asked, looking around,

“Don’t you- don’t you feel that?” Adam held his hands to his chest, worrying at the edge of his shirt sleeves, “someone- something is coming… is here.”

“Adam are you ok?” Barbara held Adam’s hands, they were trembling. Lawrence joined their huddle, a hand on Adam’s shoulder, trying to be comforting,

Adam said something in a tongue BJ couldn’t hear, couldn’t comprehend, and barbara held his face, murmuring a response,  
“I love you, I- I love you both.” Lawrence squeezed,

“Adam, what’s going on?”

“I don’t know-“

The door swung open. The house became cold, the air, even the dust that floated gently in it, froze. All the lightbulbs shattered, glass fell on Lawrence and he flinched, Barbara sprang in to brush the glass off of him.

“Knock knock,” The three of them turned to see Barbara standing in their doorway, a book and pen in hand.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Because adam is an incubus i thought he’d also have some empath abilities


	9. Chapter 9

“Knock knock,” The three of them turned to see Barbara standing in their doorway, a book and pen in hand. She grinned at Beetlejuice,

“Lawrence!”

“Lawrence?” Adam and Barbara asked at the same time,

“Uh-“ his body felt stiff and numb, “Veronica?”

She walked up to Lawrence and played with his hair, “how’ve you been, baby?”

“Get your hands off of hi-“

“Shut up!” Veronica shouted. Barbara was slammed against the far wall, which now seemed farther than it should be, by an invisible force. The same force knocked Adam off of his feet and to the ground, pinning him there,

“Are you- are you doing this?” Lawrence’s hands curled,

“Hm, with a little help from what I gathered, strange you don’t know how I’m doing this, exorcist.” Oh no

“Uh-“

“Oh, at a loss for words, Lawrence?” She cupped his chin, “it’s a simple ritual, really. I learned it in less than one day.”

“Veronica, hun, listen,”

“Hun?” Adam asked, looking up, “Beetlejuice what’s-“

“I said, shut up!” Veronica shouted again, making Lawrence flinch, Adam was pinned flat to the ground, the air seeming to leave his lungs,

“Don’t fucking touch him you slut!” Barbara shouted, running towards Veronica. Veronica glanced at Barbara and she was pinned to the ceiling.

“Veronica stop!” Lawrence took a shaky step back, “what the hell are you doing? the bonkers ass witch routine isn’t exactly the most-“

“Baby…”

“Don’t call me that! We’re not- we’re not a thing I don’t- Veronica you-“

“I don’t care about you’re… thing, I want you-“

“I don’t want you, Veronica… you’re scaring me.” 

“I’m scaring you?” Veronica laughed, “not the demons in this house? Not how death follows you like a lost puppy?”

“Veronica-“

She laughed so loudly, it sounded like thunder. She began to chant something in a language Lawrence didn’t understand, a wind blew her blonde locks around into her face, she held her book and pen in one hand and reached for Lawrence. Hey gaze sent chills down Lawrence’s spine, her laughter shook him to his core. Her laughter warped into something all to familiar, rasping and hacking, the house filled with the stench of cigarette smoke. Her body crunched and twisted to accommodate the extra room, her limbs growing too long and too strong, her nails extending into claws, her face twisted and warped and her head split in two down the middle, forming two heads bound at the back, veronica's face shifted to one side, and juno's emerged on the other. Their teeth were sharp, their jaws and mouths too big, everything was as too big. Hands cracking and popping, nails painting with gleaming red polish growing into blood dipped claws. 

Reality shifted, the house seemed so big and empty and yet they filled the space around him at the same time. This horrifying amalgam clawed it's way towards him, he took a feeble step back. It’s claws groped towards him, juno’s eyes filled with rage and veronica’s a leer that made his skin crawl. Lawrence felt like he might vomit, the stench of smoke choking him. He fell to his knees. Distantly he heard Adam cry and Barbara scream in rage, their arms reached for him and pulled him tightly against their body and he was plunged to cold darkness. 

The smell of death filled his nostrils. He opened his eyes and he we floating in nothingness. He screamed but the feeling of cold water filled his mouth and lungs, but he did not drown. He was already too far gone to drown. Lawrence flailed, trying to move through the pressure and emptiness of this place. He looked around and in the dark he saw a group of people. He managed to get to them, but he realized slowly they won't help him. Their uniforms greyed and guns dull. Their flesh was like crumbling stone. On the table between them was a newspaper with a headline about a riot at a bar. They were police. 

He saw another figure. He made his way near but quickly turned and tried to get away. He had a knife in his hand and heart in his other. His face was cracked but familiar, true crime shows plastering his face across television. He must have still and the wherewithal to move his eyes to are Lawrence. He made eye contact and Lawrence ran, as much ares he could through the ether. 

He came across a young man with a gun in his hand. He still moved, still had some color,

"Wh-what is this place?"

"The closest to hell we'll ever get. Not even a catharsis of pain exists here. Only cold and numbness." He answered. Lawrence saw him and knew there was the blood of countless on this one man's hands. Knew he began something that would kill hundreds more. He got away as quickly as possible and let himself float in the nothingness as he trembled in the cold. Juno’s voice echoed around him, words all muddling together. He shut his eyes, beyond sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> :) happy new year


	10. Chapter 10

“Lawrence?” He opened his eyes to see Emily, she held his hands. She was warm. She didn’t look how she died, she looked healthy, happy, her hair tied back in a neat blonde bun at the nape of her neck. She cupped his face, scratching at his stubble, “you’ve grown so much…”

“Emily…”

“Why are you here Lawrence?”

“Why are you- Emily, this place… it’s terrible.”

“I felt drawn here, I know why now. Lawrence you don’t belong here, why-“

“It’s- it’s my mom and it’s this lady who liked me but she made me uncomfortable and scared,” Lawrence cried, “and I met these demons but they’re really nice and I think I’m in love with them but I think they love me too so i mean that's ok but they’re probably in serious danger cause I pretended to be an exorcist but the lady trying to get down with me is an actual exorcist and she could hurt them really bad and I’m scared and my mom’s dead but she’s back and merged with the lady into some weird Freudian eldritch horror and it dragged me into hell and now I’m here and this is hell-“

“Oh Lawrence, it’s ok son, come here.” She held him, “it’s gonna be ok.”

“But I fucked up, I fucked up big time…”

“Honey we all fuck up, c’mon.” She took his hand and they rose, as if floating up from the bottom of a pool,

“Now, you’re in the well of lost souls, so you’re gonna have to find a door out by going through the netherworld. I can take you where you need to be to a certain point… but i can’t come with you out.”

“I- I know aunt Em…”

They came to what seemed to be the surface of the place they were, they breached the surface and climbed out. They appeared to be in an office room,

“Welcome to the land of the dead,” Emily said, “this is the neutral space. Just outside of the nothingness.”

“It’s still cold.”

“We’re near the ninth sphere.” Emily nodded towards a hallway, “follow me”

The hallway was lined with many doors. Each had a unique sound emanating from them. Some of suffering, some of pleasure, others Lawrence could barely figure out or distinguish between the previous two.

The two reached a red door and Emily opened it. It opened to what reminded Lawrence of a doctor’s office lobby or waiting room, 

“You’ll need to speak with someone at the desk, take a number. I must go now.”

“Ok, where are you going?”

“I’m happy where I’m going. That’s all i can say, and all i can really actually explain with human words. I’m happy.” She smiled and hugged Lawrence,

“Lydia misses you.”

“I know… but she’s grown. And so has Charles, and I’m so proud of them both. And i await to meet Delia, in due time of course.” Emily let go of Lawrence, “I’m so proud of all of you,”

“Em-“

“You were the son I always wanted Lawrence,”

“You’re the mom I never had.” He choked down a sob and nodded. Emily walked down the hall and he watched until she disappeared in the dim light.

With a sigh he entered the waiting room and took a numbered punch card. Around him were people in various states of maimed, disfigured, gutted, and dead. One man sat with his head in his hands, literally he held it in his lap despite it still dripped blood.

“Number sixty?” Called a familiar voice, Lawrence checked his card, that was him,  
He got up to go to the desk and saw

“Kevin?”

“Lawrence? Good god what are you doing here?” Kevin, or Otho as he’d insisted his stage name be, looked Lawrence up and down, “you’ve let yourself go a bit but there’s not a scratch on you, heart attack?”

“I’m not dead, Kevin.”

“Oh, why are you here then?”

“Some lady fused with my mom and groped me and dragged me to hell.”

“Rough night, sounds like.”

“Yeah worse than you,” Lawrence joked,

“Ugh, can we not talk about that?” Kevin rolled his eyes and sighed, “anyways you need to get out of here then, before you actually die.”

“Speaking of dying… what happened to you, kev?”

“Oh you know… one too many drinks… one too many mistakes…” he shifted his head to the side to show more of the back of his head. It was completely caved in, “ran into a tough crowd. Y’know?”

“Who-“

“Angry ex who i may or may not have burgled.”

“God fucking damn it Kevin,”

“Oh trust me, she has…” Kevin pointed to a door, “second door on your right then the fourth door on your left.”

“Any advice on dealing with this weird freudian conundrum I’m in?”

“Best way to Stick it to an ex is to show you’ve moved on,” kevin said

“Right, ok. That makes total fucking sense.” Lawrence rolled his eyes,

“Do you have people there for you?”

“Yeah.”

“Then take that.”

Lawrence nodded, “keep yourself out of trouble,”

“Like thats possible! Tah!”

They waved and Lawrence left.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I would die for Emily  
Also Kevin is a dumbass but we Stan chaotic bitches  
Get ready for a fight, kids.


End file.
